Love this fuss below about a 14 day quarantine for those flying into the UK.

Who is going to be voluntarily flying into the UK for a long time to come given our "Covid" levels....?

Will rather the UK monied be flying out en masse to live in a less hysterical and better run country? (Have you seen what the foreign press is making of us?)

This as we leave Europe and stand in splendid isolation at the end of the year....

We can fly all the Union Jacks we like on VE day, but there is a grotesque collective cognitive dissonance betwen how we and the rest of the world see Britain.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52594023

It's apparently a rule in South Korea. I haven't noticed them being criticised for their coronavirus policy, rather the opposite.

Foreign travel advice

South Korea

…

All arrivals – regardless of nationality and length of stay – are required to undergo quarantine for 14 days.
www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-korea/coronavirus

I wasn't trying to make a serious point about the policy. Because I am so despairing at how this country is being run and our appalling failures re the virus, it made me smile to imagine anyone wanting to come here for the forseeable, and spend a fortnight in quarantine for the privilige...

I do wonder what the impact on tourism and Universities will be over the next few years; I imagine Germany and Denmark would feel far safer to journey to; regardless of whether they are or not.

And what with actual Brexit to come in a few months what will our stock be?

You live by media power, you die by media power...

I don't get why the Brits fly flags on certain days rather than all year.

Flags poles are not expensive nor or flags.

If neighbours complain about certain flags then tell them not to look at it then.

Green Man wrote:
I don't get why the Brits fly flags on certain days rather than all year.

Flags poles are not expensive nor or flags.

If neighbours complain about certain flags then tell them not to look at it then.

Perhaps because no one knows what they can or should be proud about now? But we love a party!

We used to be proud of Empire; we used to be a super power. In such times overt patriotism has a recognised appearence and purpose. Now our past is covered in shame and moral ambiguity, we don't know what to cleave to.

Brexit was an attempt by many to find something that would galvanise and give a sense of identity again; personally and so nationally (Brexiteers conflate the two).

It will never achieve any such thing because you can't achieve a new identity through abnegation alone.

A flag can bring comfort, as a moth eaten teddy bear can to the youth who has outgrown it, but doesn't know yet what or who to be next...

Like the rest of the world, so much has changed in Britain.

My favourite eras for Britain were the 1970’s and 1980’s and maybe some of the 1990’s too.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s Britain had a great Pop Industry, if you were an entrepreneurial songwriter or producer you could really go from rags to riches with just a couple of hit singles, particularly if you owned the publishing... the UK had a much bigger Pop business than other countries and if you had a hit in the UK then the rest of the world usually wanted it too.

Also, Britain had Top of the Pops which was a great TV show and could really turn a radio hit into a massive across the board hit and help sell hundreds of thousands of copies of a single.

Plus there were exciting pirate radio stations on ships 🚢 at sea and on land around the disused scrublands of London (AM) and the FM stations on the tower blocks.

There were other great TV shows and the UK was really the place to be for those interested in these things.

But that’s all gone now.. the pop business is mostly centred around Los Angeles now and it’s driven by streaming services and popular playlists (Spotify and Apple) and its much harder to make a million from it...

Today a London label like those of the 70’s/80’s RAK, UK, Magnet, PWL and so on, would struggle to get enough global streams to maintain studios and offices let alone the opportunity to buy country mansions and fast cars.

It’s a vastly different world and recording music today is so much easier, even an iPad Pro with GarageBand or Cubasis with a pair of headphones can achieve top quality results..

Still, hits still pop out of the blue, particularly Tik Tok viral hits that crossover and those can still do the magic trick of turning rags to riches.